Method and Madness

A podcast hosted by writer Brad Kelly (formerly of Art of Darkness). Main book episodes feature 2 parts: a fun, in-depth conversation with one of my most insightful friends, and a sprawling exploration of the book's many rabbit-holes (usually behind the paywall). Melee episodes are general conversations with authors and others about books, writing, and culture.

88 episodes

12d ago latest

weekly cadence

English language

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Episodes 87

“The Million Pound Bank Note” by Mark Twain [audio recording]
4d ago
First published in 1893, "The Million Pound Bank Note" by Mark Twain is a classic of American storytelling. A farcical rags to riches tale.
Melee - J. Reuben Appelman on THE CHEATING SIDE
12d ago
J. Reuben Appelman is a celebrated writer of true crime (THE KILL JAR, investigating a notorious serial homicide case in Detroit in the 1970s). His latest, THE CHEATING SIDE, is a classic work of hardboiled fiction firmly set in the modern era. From the blurb: When Idaho private investigator Jimmy Chinden’s murder investigation threatens a land deal worth millions, the politically protected Aryan mob comes gunning for his family―but the old money outlaws might be outgunned.
Melee - John Jay Stancliff on PIERCE
19d ago
The great John Jay Stancliff joined me to talk about his latest novel, PIERCE, out August 11 from Farthest Heaven. His book is about fatherhood, men, work, and the deep struggle of virtue. BUY PIERCE Follow John on twitter.
With Worn-out Tools | 8/2026 Tarot Reading
20d ago
A tarot reading on finding home again, growing versus building, and what it means to play the victim. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
[PREVIEW] - The MADNESS of TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson
1mo ago
On Elton Manzione and the Third Eye of Vietnam. For full access, sign up on substack of patreon
Ep. 19.1 - HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski w/J David Osborne
1mo ago
The great J David Osborne joined me to go deep on the cult classic HOUSE OF LEAVES. We get into what works, what doesn’t, what might have back in 2000, what the house might mean, and why we might never see another book like it in the age of the internet. Follow JDO on twitter Buy JDO’s books Listen to Agitator on Apple, Spotify, or Patreon
“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather [audio recording]
1mo ago
Well before she became a household name, Willa Cather contributed this piece to McClure’s Magazine, a photo negative of a bildungsroman, and a tragedy about the draw of glitz and glamour.
The Garden, The Race | 7/2026 Tarot Reading
1mo ago
A tarot reading on trusting your gut, savoring the solace, and willing yourself to find the edge. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
Melee - Scott Laudati on RAINBOW ROAD
2mo ago
Scott Laudati is a renaissance man. A musician, painter, filmmaker, and a true poet. We talk about being on local television, his ceaseless travels across this beautiful country, throwing away the phone, and his powerful new collection of poetry RAINBOW ROAD.
Ep. 18.1 - TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson w/Kevin Kautzman
2mo ago
Good Morning and please listen to me: TREE OF SMOKE is a Great American Novel, about war, espionage, fathers, sacrifice, depravity, and much more. The book’s central metaphor stands everywhere and nowhere, like a dark wraith unfolding itself across the modern psyche. The great Kevin Kautzman, from Art of Darkness, joined me in the tunnels beneath this remarkable book.
MELEE - Kenan Meral on STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH
2mo ago
Author Kenan Meral joined me to talk about books within books, the terror of sublimity, the reality of deepfakery, and his excellent new novel STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH. Follow Kenan on twitter Buy STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH from New Ritual Press
Ep. 17.2 - The MADNESS of William H. Gass' THE TUNNEL [free version]
2mo ago
In this FREE version of the MADNESS episode, I get into hobby tunneling, Gass via Gaston Bachelard, the linguistic and mythic dimension of matter, and what it means that THE TUNNEL is a novel of the Earth.
Melee - Laeth on SKETCHES OF ALICE
2mo ago
I’m joined by the Portuguese fiction writer and aphorist Laeth for a conversation about jazz, writing as discovery, listening for the voice, and his singular work, including his most recent novel SKETCHES OF ALICE Laeth’s website (buy SKETCHES OF ALICE and his other books) Laeth on substack Laeth on twitter
“The Man Who Would Not Die” by Harold Ward [audio recording]
3mo ago
Out of the archives of The Black Mask—the magazine that launched the careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler—comes a tale by Harold Ward, an unsung hero paid pennies by the word. Inspector Des Moines is clever, tough, and no nonsense, but when dead people start pulling heists, he has to call on the enigmatic Mohammed Gunga to wage battle against evil itself.
You can’t outsmart the Devil | 5/2026 Tarot Reading
3mo ago
A tarot reading on the things that enslave us, self-medicating and scrolling, and organizing one's mental state to bring vision into reality. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
[PREVIEW] Ep. 16.2 - The MADNESS of BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams
3mo ago
In which we go deep into the life of John Williams: oil booms, abandonment, tall tales about WW2, booze, women, and three “perfect” novels. In this clip, I get into the influence of Yvor Winters’ odd brand of classicism on one of the 20th Century’s greatest novelists.
“The Nameless Offspring” by Clark Ashton Smith [audio recording]
4mo ago
Clark Ashton Smith was a poet once called “The Last of the Great Romantics".” But he is more remembered as one of the three most significant writers of pulp mainstay Weird Tales. H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith who was perhaps even stranger in his vision than either of them. “The Nameless Offspring” first appeared in Strange Tales in 1932. A tale of family secrets, a haunted manor, and a beast we’d now refer to as a Pale Crawler.
Melee - Getting Lit
4mo ago
Matt Fresta and Matthew Sini of the Getting Lit Podcast join me to talk about the history of their show, niche literary podcasting, the Australian scene, Sini’s provocative statement that there is no such thing as an atheist fiction writer, and much, much more.
Melee - Paul Heron on The End of History
4mo ago
The ever-insightful Paul Heron joins me to figure out if History is in fact over, what Fukuyama meant by posing the question, cycles of history, nostalgia for the future, and much much more. Subscribe to Some Private Diagonal and check out Paul’s work at Café Américain
Ep. 16.1 - BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams w/Lake Markham
4mo ago
BUTCHER'S CROSSING by John Williams is an unassuming masterpiece. The writer Lake Markham (LO SIENTO) joined me to talk about what makes this book special. We get into the meaning of the Western, the ideas and images that drive this book, buffalo, what Williams has to say about America and Transcendentalism, and some of the things that writers can learn from this potent little volume. BUY LO SIENTO Lake on instagram. Lake on twitter. Lake’s website.
Melee - David Simmons on ERADICATOR
4mo ago
David Simmons is a genre unto himself. We talk about his unsettling novel ERADICATOR--a white-knuckle book that is part AMERICAN PSYCHO, part THE FLY, and all Simmons. We also get into his upcoming short story collection FETTY ON THE SWITCHES, his creative process, why Baltimore is such rich terrain for fiction, and much, much more. This will be on the free feed next week. David’s linktree Pre-order FETTY ON THE SWITCHES
Melee - Tom Will on RHYMES
5mo ago
The dynamic poet Tom Will has yet another modern classic. His new collection, RHYMES out now on Farthest Heaven , a unique exploration of poetic form is the new poetry you need. We talk about the history of the roundel and other poetic forms, the potency of poetry in the age of the algorithm, and much more.
Melee - Grant Wamack on THE SCARECROWS WILL WATCH OVER US
5mo ago
Grant Wamack is the author and tarot reader. His most recent book is THE SCARECROWS WILL WATCH OVER US, a folk horror thriller about cat people lust-demons stalking a farm in Wisconsin...and the occult practices that have warded them off for years. We also talked about tarot, bigfoot and other cryptids, and Grant’s time working for a psychic hotline.
Ep. 15.2 - The MADNESS of Ishmael Reed’s MUMBO JUMBO
5mo ago
Explorations of the labyrinths hidden below the cult classic hoodoo novel MUMBO JUMBO by Ishmael Reed. Talking the real Book of Thoth and the secrets smuggled into the modern day through the Corpus Hermeticum, the identity of Moses, the real deal about Voodoo, and much, much more.
“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane [audio recording]
5mo ago
"The Open Boat" is a short story by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). First published in 1898, it was based on Crane's experience of surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Florida earlier that year while traveling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent. Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours when his ship, the SS Commodore, sank after hitting a sandbar. He and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat.

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Ep. 17.2 - The MADNESS of William H. Gass' THE TUNNEL [free version]

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“The Man Who Would Not Die” by Harold Ward [audio recording]

You can’t outsmart the Devil | 5/2026 Tarot Reading

[PREVIEW] Ep. 16.2 - The MADNESS of BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams

“The Nameless Offspring” by Clark Ashton Smith [audio recording]

Melee - Getting Lit

Melee - Paul Heron on The End of History

Ep. 16.1 - BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams w/Lake Markham

Melee - David Simmons on ERADICATOR

Melee - Tom Will on RHYMES

Melee - Grant Wamack on THE SCARECROWS WILL WATCH OVER US

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“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane [audio recording]

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Episodes 87

“The Million Pound Bank Note” by Mark Twain [audio recording]

Melee - J. Reuben Appelman on THE CHEATING SIDE

Melee - John Jay Stancliff on PIERCE

With Worn-out Tools | 8/2026 Tarot Reading

[PREVIEW] - The MADNESS of TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson

Ep. 19.1 - HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski w/J David Osborne

“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather [audio recording]

The Garden, The Race | 7/2026 Tarot Reading

Melee - Scott Laudati on RAINBOW ROAD

Ep. 18.1 - TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson w/Kevin Kautzman

MELEE - Kenan Meral on STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH

Ep. 17.2 - The MADNESS of William H. Gass' THE TUNNEL [free version]

Melee - Laeth on SKETCHES OF ALICE

“The Man Who Would Not Die” by Harold Ward [audio recording]

You can’t outsmart the Devil | 5/2026 Tarot Reading

[PREVIEW] Ep. 16.2 - The MADNESS of BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams

“The Nameless Offspring” by Clark Ashton Smith [audio recording]

Melee - Getting Lit

Melee - Paul Heron on The End of History

Ep. 16.1 - BUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams w/Lake Markham

Melee - David Simmons on ERADICATOR

Melee - Tom Will on RHYMES

Melee - Grant Wamack on THE SCARECROWS WILL WATCH OVER US

Ep. 15.2 - The MADNESS of Ishmael Reed’s MUMBO JUMBO

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane [audio recording]